Who is Cardinal George Jacob Koovakad, the priest adorning a white cloak at Pope Francis' funeral?
The 266th pope of the
Roman Catholic Church
,
Pope Francis
was laid to rest in Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica in Rome, Italy on April 26th, 2025. His funeral was attended by thousands of people, from world leaders to priests from across the globe.
However, there is one priest who has caught the eye of many during the funeral. In a photo going viral on X, a group of priests all adorned in similar red cloaks with the same designs can be seen standing together. But, between them stands one priest in a white cloak and a unique cross design on the back. People on the social media site have been trying to figure out who he is and why his cloak was different from the others.
"That white cloak is an Indian cardinal btw. Our guy has his own colours and cross and everything." wrote an X user informing others. Since then many have commented on the viral post saying that he is none other than
Cardinal George Jacob Koovakad
, the first priest to be promoted to the position of a cardinal by Pope Francis himself.
Who is Cardinal George Jacob Koovakad?
Image credits: Getty Images
December 2024 marked an important development for the Catholics in India with Archbishop George Jacob Koovakad becoming the first Catholic priest from India to be elevated to the rank of Cardinal by Pope Francis. Koovakad was one of the 21 priests from across the globe who were inducted into the College of Cardinals at St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City.
Since January 2025, George Jacob Koovkad has been serving as the Prefect of the
Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue
and head of Apostolic Journeys at the Secretariat of the State. He was born in Chethipuzha in the Kottayam district of Kerala on August 11, 1973. He was ordained as a priest on July 24, 2004, in Changanacherry after which he graduated in Canon Law and moved on to enter the Holy See Diplomatic Service in 2006. From 2006 to 2009 he served at the apostolic nunciature in Algeria as secretary, in 2009 he was transferred to the apostolic nunciature in Korea and in 2012 to the apostolic nunciature in Iran. He moved on to work in Costa Rica and Venezuela.
In 2020, he began working as the Secretariat of State in the section for General Affairs and in 2021 he was charged with the organization of Apostolic Journeys by Pope Francis.
Why was Cardinal George Jacob Koovakad wearing a white cloak?
Image credits: Getty Images
Cardinal Koovakad has played an important role in service at the
Syro-Malabar Church
. The church located in Kerala is one of the Eastern Catholic Churches and is fully in communion with the Pope and the Vatican.
However, it follows the East Syriac liturgical tradition and not the Roman rites. From their language to their vestments and rituals, all vary from the Latin Church. While they are catholic like any other catholic church their expression of Catholicism is more inclined towards the East. This is why while the other priests were all dressed in red cloaks, Cardinal George Jacob Koovakad attended Pope Francis' funeral in a white one.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Indian Express
3 hours ago
- New Indian Express
Unchain university students from desks
Global rankings for 2025 have triggered fresh bouts of soul-searching within India's higher education sector. While explanations abound—from resource limitations to lack of internationalisation—one critical but under-recognised factor continues to undermine true educational excellence quietly: India's near-unchallenged obsession with prolonged, in-class direct teaching and rigid requirements for on-campus presence. This deep-seated attachment to the classroom as the central, even exclusive, site of learning is symptomatic of broader systemic problems, and urgently demands reflection. The current controversy at the University of Delhi over the mandated 12-hour daily on-campus presence for students is both emblematic and alarming. Why do our institutions cling so stubbornly to the notion that more hours corralled in classrooms necessarily translates into better learning? And, more importantly, what do we lose by doing so, both as individuals and as a collective academic community aspiring towards global standards? To understand this persistence, one must reach back to the origins of the 'factory model' of education, devised during colonial and industrial times to produce disciplined, predictable workers rather than intellectually-agile citizens. Indian academia has inherited not just the infrastructure but also the attitudes of this antiquated, control-centred approach. We have equated rigorous supervision with quality, time in class with learning, and discipline with genuine engagement. However, research in educational psychology and the lived experience of leading universities worldwide have since revealed that this equation is flawed. Global pedagogical thought, influenced by figures such as Lev Vygotsky, Jean Piaget and John Dewey, champions the idea that knowledge is actively constructed, not passively absorbed. Learning is context-rich, socially mediated and deeply self-directed. And yet, in India, the 'teacher as sole authority, student as vessel' model persists, out-of-step with both research and the demands of the 21st century.
The Hindu
5 hours ago
- The Hindu
Chennai tops the list of cities with households facing challenge accessing water
Households in Chennai face the biggest challenges in accessing water, with 17% depending on hand pumps and 14% depending on other sources, such as tanker trucks, which are by far the highest numbers in any city, according to a study conducted in 14 cities across India. Presenting and discussing the results of the Citizenship, Urban Governance and Inequality (CIUG) project, based on a comparative study of 14 Indian cities, including Chennai, and survey results from 31,803 households, Brown University Professor Patrick Heller said Chennai ranked low in basic service delivery while a large number of people rely on intermediaries for service delivery. The project examined the quality and coverage of basic services and how urban Indian citizens used their civil, political, and social rights in cities and found significant variation in the quality of basic services delivered across cities. 'Bhavnagar, Kochi and Vadodara had the best services, and Chennai and Mumbai had the worst.' 'If basic water access is generally not a problem in most cities, the quality of access clearly is. Most households either getting less than two hours a day or more than 23 hours a day. Overall, 43.4 % of households only get water for up to two hours daily, and 23% get more than 23 hours daily. There is, moreover, huge variation across cities. Kochi households have the best water service of all our cities,' he said. In some cities a large percentage of citizens only have buckets to rely on for storing water. The quality of sanitation also varies substantially by city. While Kochi, Vadodara, Ahmedabad, and Delhi provide good sanitation to the vast majority of their populations, a majority of households in Mumbai have compromised sanitation. In explaining the unequal distribution of services within cities, the study found that the primary determinant was housing type, which is our indicator for class. Indeed, not only does class have the strongest effects on basic service delivery, but it also has the highest explanatory power across all our models. Class determines the availability of public services in India's cities more than any other variable, the study said. With very few exceptions, social life in urban India is still heavily governed by caste. Social ties, as seen at least via friendships, are marked by strong bonding of intra-caste togetherness, as opposed to inter-caste networks. The prevalence of intra caste togetherness ties outweighed inter-caste networks. In the study only Chennai and Kochi are partial exceptions to this, with residents claiming that they have strong binding friendship with other caste as against intra-caste togetherness, the study said. It is clear that there are stark differences in access to sanitation by caste in cities across India. If only 12% of OBCs have compromised sanitation, that figure rises to 30% for SC and 33% for STs, the study said.
NDTV
6 hours ago
- NDTV
6 Quick Tips To Make Street-Style Rajasthani Mirchi Vada At Home
The days when it rains and your chai feels lonely, you just know a snack has to join the party. In Rajasthan, that snack is almost always the iconic mirchi vada… fat green chillies stuffed with spiced potato, dipped in besan batter, and fried till golden. Street vendors in Jaipur and Jodhpur sell them hot, crisp, and impossible to resist. But here's the good news! You don't have to hop on a train to Rajasthan or keep adding them to your favourite food delivery app cart. But if cooking is on your mind, here are a few smart tricks you can use to recreate this crunchy, spicy snack in your own kitchen and serve it up just like the streetside stalls. What Is In Mirchi Vada? Mirchi vada, also known as mirchi bhajjis, is a popular Indian snack made with green chillies, potatoes, and gram flour (besan). The chillies are typically stuffed with a spiced mashed potato filling, then coated in a batter and deep-fried. Here Are 6 Quick Tips To Make Rajasthani Mirchi Vada At Home 1. Choose The Right Chillies While making this delicious snack at home, choose large, thick-skinned chillies. They are mild in spice, easy to stuff, and also hold their shape when coated in a batter and fried. Make sure to skip thin, extra-spicy chillies unless you want your snack to be extremely fiery. 2. Scrape Out The Seeds One of the common mistakes while making Rajasthani mirchi vada is not removing the seeds from the chillies. To balance the heat in your snack, slit the chillies and gently remove the seeds from within. This will also make room for the stuffing and ensure the vadas are flavourful without being overly spicy. 3. Make A Delicious Potato Filling Making a yummy filling is what makes your homemade mirchi vada perfect. Mash boiled potatoes with ginger, garlic, coriander, garam masala, and a dash of amchur. That tang is what makes these vadas so addictive. Some people also add saunf to the mixture to make it extra aromatic. 4. Get The Batter Right Your besan (gram flour) batter should be smooth, lump-free, and slightly thick so that it coats the chillies well. If it is too watery, it won't stick to the chillies. If it's too thick, it won't fry properly. Add a pinch of ajwain and baking soda to get that street-style crunch. 5. Fry On Medium Heat You might think that high heat would fry the vadas faster, but that's not how it works. If it is too hot, the outside will burn before the chilli cooks. If the heat is too low, the vadas will soak up a lot of oil. Medium heat will give you that perfect golden crust without the grease overload. 6. Pair Them With The Right Chutneys Mirchi vadas are incomplete without sides. Make sure to pair them with tangy tamarind chutney or spicy green chutney. If you want to have it true Rajasthani style, sandwich them inside a pav or bun with chutneys and enjoy them vada-pav style! That being said, getting perfect mirchi vadas at home can take a lot of practice. If this batch didn't turn out how you expected it to be, don't be sad! Order it quickly from your favourite food delivery app and keep practising till you get it right. What To Serve With Mirchi Vadas | What To Pair With Mirchi Vada Tea-time pairing: Nothing beats a hot cup of masala chai with a fresh, crisp vada. Rajasthani street-style: Slip it into a pav with chutneys and treat it like a desi burger. Party snack: Slice them in half, serve with toothpicks, and let guests dip them in chutneys. Full meal twist: Pair mirchi vadas with kadhi chawal for the ultimate comfort-food duo. Are Mirchi Vadas Healthy | How Many Calories In A Mirchi Vada | Mirchi Vada Calories A single stuffed mirchi vada, also known as mirchi bhaji, contains a total of approximately 104 calories. Here is a more detailed breakdown of the nutritional content in point form: Total Calories: A single mirchi vada contains about 104 calories. Fat: The majority of the calories come from fat, contributing around 58 calories due to the frying process. Carbohydrates: Carbohydrates account for 35 per cent of the total calories. Protein: The protein content is lower, contributing approximately 11 calories. Are Mirchi Vadas Very Spicy? Not necessarily! The chillies used in mirchi vada are usually mild, and once the seeds are removed and the potato filling is added, the heat balances out without any effort. Can I Reheat Mirchi Vadas? Yes, you can reheat mirchi vadas. The best way is to reheat them in an oven or air fryer so they turn crisp again. Avoid microwaving, they'll turn soggy.
